This is just a basic overview of hands. Many hands have more than one nickname, and sometimes individual players will have pet names for hands. Doyle Brunson once referred to A-K as the “Houston hand,” because you either went back to Houston Casino Extra grinning ear to ear or went back crying because you were broke. That particular nickname hasn’t caught on, but these are some of the most common nicknames that are generally used by the poker playing world.
A-A: “Pocket Rockets” or “Bullets”
A-K: “Big Slick”
A-Q: “Big Chick” or “Little Slick”
A-J: “Black Jack” or “Jack Ass”
A-8: “Dead Man’s Hand”—most famous nickname, after the hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot in the back.
K-K: “King Kong” or “Cowboys”
K-Q: “Royalty” or “Old Married Couple”
K-J: “Kojack”
K-9: “Canine” (yeah, I know, extremely original) or “Fido”
K-3: “King Crab”
Q-Q: “Ladies” or “Siegfried & Roy” or “Double Date”
Q-3: “Gay Waiter”
J-J: “Fish hooks” or “Hooks”
J-5: “Motown” or “Jackson Five”
J-4: “Flat Tire”
T-2: “Dolly Brunson” or “Texas Dolly”
T-4: “Good Buddy” or “Over and Out”
9-9: “Popeyes”
9-5: “Dolly Parton”
8-8: “Snowmen”
7-7: “Sunset Strip”
6-6: “Route 66”
5-5: “Speed Limit”
4-4: “Magnum” or “Sail Boats”
4-5: “Jesse James”
3-3: “Crabs”
2-2: “Ducks” or “Pocket Swans”
While there are other hands with Casino Extra nicknames, these are the most common ones you’ll find. The aces and eights are the most famous, and maybe even the first nickname since they date all the way back to Wild Bill Hickok. He had paired both in a game of five card draw, and so was holding two pair aces and eights, a hand with which he won the pot, when he was shot in the back and killed. The other nicknames generally aren’t nearly so violent a history, but they are from gamblers, so don’t be surprised if you look up nicknames for yourself and find some more “colorful” nicknames not mentioned here.
But now next time at the poker table when someone talks about a flat tire facing a gay waiter, you won’t give away being a newbie by gaping like someone who just fell into the twilight zone. Have fun, and don’t give away too much.
